Standing Outside The Fire
by Mashara125
Summary: Makoto is a firefighter and Sousuke and Rin are police officers, what would happen if they ended up at the same call? Especially when Makoto's life is in danger. My first attempt at a SouMako or Free! fic ever.


**So this is something new that I've never gone before, also a genre that I've never tried to write. I don't know why I like this pairing so much because it has nothing at all in the Anime, but for some reason it just jumped out at me and I blame LaLa for her influences (and exposing me to fanart and fanfiction) lol. So I was inspired to write this from seeing Makoto as a fireman and Sousuke as a cop, knowing the rivalry between the two professions and wondering what would happen if they ended up on the same call. So here is my take on that. **

**Disclaimer: I am not a cop, or a fireman. Please don't read this and be like THEY WOULD NEVER DO THAT! Because honestly, most of what I know about these guys are from TV, newstories and books, so be gentle if things are not 100% canon. **

**I do not own Free! or it's characters, they belong to Hiroko Utsumi and Kyoto Animation along with the creators of Free! I thank them for their use in my own creative expressions *bows***

* * *

Sousuke looked down at the brown paper bag and noticed there was only one lone stale donut left, he glanced over at his riding partner to see if he would object to him snagging the last of their pastries. Rin was asleep with his legs up on the dash of their patrol car and his cap pulled down over his eyes, he wasn't snoring but they had bunked together in their final year of high school so Sousuke could tell when he was out. Or so he thought.

"Do you really need that last doughnut?" Rin's mouth curved into a sharp tooth smile. "Someone has been looking a little flabby around the middle lately."

"Speak for yourself," Sousuke bit into it hungrily. "I'm not the one who gets free food all the time."

"Haru likes trying out new recipes, that's all, and most of them are fish." Rin pushed his hat back up on his head and stretched his arms with a groan. "Remind me again how we ended up with this assignment, no one comes out here at three in the morning."

"You were late for roll call for the third time this week and the captain is a stickler for punctuality," he answered while licking sugar crumbs off his fingers.

"You don't have to put it all on me," Rin mumbled sourly as he looked out the window. They were parked in between two brick buildings in the industrial end of the city. Sometimes kids would come out here in the early hours of the morning to race their cars in the parking lots or do minor damage to some of the abandoned warehouses, but tonight it was like a ghost town and nothing was moving.

"Maybe we should switch spots," Rin whined. "This is beyond boring…"

Sousuke sighed, Rin had never been one for sitting around and he was terrible at stake-outs and undercover work, he just had too much energy to sit still and it needed to be funnelled into something.

"Relax; we only have an hour left before we can go back to the station." He glanced down at the empty paper cup that used to have coffee in it and wished for another one to materialize out of nowhere, this last hour was going to be hell without his hot coffee.

"Two speeding tickets and a rear break light violation, that's a stupid slow night."

Sousuke agreed, but it also meant that it was a quiet night and a quiet night was a good night.

"We could skip out early and hit up that gas station about ten blocks from here," Rin suggested with a grin, he must have caught the longing look at the empty coffee cut and decided to hit him where it would hurt. "Hot coffee and they have rotisserie hotdogs."

"Might as well eat a bicycle tire…" Sousuke muttered but he was seriously considering the idea. One of the reasons that he always made sure to drive was because if it was Rin in charge of the keys they would have skipped out an hour ago. Crackle over the radio broke his train of thought as the dispatch signaled their car.

"Dispatch this is car twelve Yamazaki, over."

"Car twelve, we've got a fire near your location, possible arson. Fire units have been notified and are requesting back-up." She rattled off the address and it was a warehouse less than a half mile from where they were parked.

At the mention of fire Sousuke had started the engine and by the time dispatched had finished he was already peeling out onto the road, leaving a layer of the tires behind. "Car twelve responding." He threw the radio back onto the dash and pushed harder on the gas petal.

Rin was silent now and his face was set grim, he would be as anxious as Sousuke was to get to this call. Just because it was in his district didn't mean that he would be responding, it could be his night off or his turn to wash the fire trucks. Even as he tried to tell himself that he just knew that Makoto would be one of the firemen possibly entering a burning building at this moment and he just had to get there.

They saw the fire before they reached it and could smell the light odor of smoke even from inside the car. The building was still pretty intact with only flames racing up one side and near the back. Sousuke couldn't see the fire truck yet, which meant that by some miracle they had reached it first, but as soon as he parked a safe distance from the building and wrenched the police car door open the flashing red lights had arrived.

Men jumped off the truck like fleas jumping from a big red dog, fully dressed in their gear and started assessing the building, removing the hose from the under-carriage and hooking it to the tank under the truck. Sousuke picked out the Fire Captain in the glow caused by their combined flashing lights and rushed over with Rin following him.

"Sir!" He called; the Captain was pointing to the building while talking to a couple of his men and giving out his orders. "Sir," he repeated when he reached him. "Officers Yamazaki and Matsuoka responding to a request for back-up."

"That was fast," the Captain breathed over the noise from his men assembling.

"We were in the area Sir." Sousuke tried to find Makoto from the men rushing around but it was next to impossible with all their gear on.

"Right now I have to worry about getting my men in there to check for any possible victims, so back up and stay out of the way. If you see anyone not wearing a firemen's uniform, arrest them." He dismissed them with a wave of his hand and Sousuke and Rin retreated out of his way.

"We should do a perimeter and check for anything suspicious," Rin yelled over the noise.

"Yeah…" Sousuke yelled back but he was barely listening. He still couldn't spot the tall man he was looking for and it seemed that his hope he wasn't on duty tonight might have been right. He was about to turn away so they could start their check but then something caught his eye. There was nothing that distinguished Makoto from the other firemen rushing around, but the way he stood, the shape of his body and demeanor of his actions, Sousuke knew that it was him. Then he realized that Makoto was a part of the team that was preparing themselves to enter the building and it felt like his heart was constricting in his chest.

"Sousuke," Rin called his name and grabbed him by the shoulder. "What's the matter?" He followed Sousuke's gaze and must have noticed same thing he had. "Makoto…" Rin mumbled. "He'll be alright, that's his job and we have to go do ours."

Sousuke contemplated the irony of this situation, not even a half hour ago he had been giving him the lecture about professionalism and now the shoe was on the other foot. He was usually the one who had to reign in Rin; the detached one, unemotional and stoic. Not that he didn't feel passionate about certain things; he was just good at channeling it in a calm and reasonable manner without being rash or impulsive. The problem was that one of the things he was passionate about was about to enter a burning building filled with potentially dangerous situation and unknown threats, Sousuke didn't feel like taking this calmly.

"The way we can help him is by securing the scene and making sure there are no more outside threats," Rin reasoned.

"Alright then," Sousuke turned away as the group of firemen went to enter the building, Makoto among them. He didn't think he wanted to watch this part.

He and Rin walked around to the side of the building that wasn't on fire, checking things out with their flashlights. More cop car lights flashed in the distance on their way to scene and the wail of an ambulance, Sousuke wondered if they had found anyone in the building yet. They cleared that side of the building and decided go back to the front to check in with their own Captain who would have arrived from the station by now. They had almost made it when a massive boom ripped through the air with enough force to pop their ears.

"What the hell what that?!" Rin yelled, his voice barely making it over the ringing. A few smaller pops followed and Sousuke got the sinking feeling in his stomach again and took off running for the front of the building. As he ran he could see that the fire had spread considerably, the roof was now almost totally covered in flames and parts of the front wall. The sinking feeling turned into a rock of dread that threatened to drop at any moment, there was no way anyone could be in that building and still make it out alive.

Three more cop cars and an ambulance had added to the chaos in front of the burning warehouse, Sousuke spotted their Captain and rushed towards him.

"Captain," he called, slightly breathless. "What happened?"

"Yamazaki, did you find anything?"

"No, we checked the east side of the building and it's clear Sir, but we heard that explosion…"

"Might have been a gas line or something extremely flammable being stored inside, that's not our problem right now."

"Sir, did all the men make it out of there?" Sousuke asked desperately.

"What?" His Captain looked at him in confusion. Sousuke knew that he was asking the wrong person, he pushed past the man towards a group of firemen that were standing as close to the front of the burning building as possible.

"Yamazaki! Come back here!" He heard his Captain call out but he ignored him and kept running forward. The heat was nearly intolerable as he pushed on but he had to know.

"Makoto!" He called out as he ran. "Makoto Tachibana!"

A few of the men must have heard him over the sound of the flames because they turned towards him but he didn't recognize any of them. They were still dressed completely in their fireproof coveralls but the masks of their helmets were up and the light from the fire made their faces mostly visible.

"What are you doing here?" The Fire Captain was among the men. "You can't be here, get back behind the line."

"Please, Makoto Tachibana, did he make it out of the building?"

"You can't be here," he repeated harshly, he turned one of his men and pointed to Sousuke. "Take him back behind the cars and later I will be speaking to your captain."

"Please." The fireman grabbed him by the shoulder and tried to push him back but he was taller and held his ground. "Just tell me if he got out alright and I'll go."

"Sir, look!" Another man called out and pointed towards the building. A man had appeared in the opening they had used to enter the building to do their search. He stumbled out of the building just before it collapsed into a pile of flaming debris that blocked the entrance way.

Sousuke's heart leap into his throat, two men went rushing forward and grabbed him before he fell over. They pulled him further away from the building and towards the growing crowd of anxious first responders.

"Someone get the paramedic, we need oxygen!" One of the rescuers yelled as they ripped off his helmet. It wasn't Makoto that they had pulled out of the building but another man, breathing heavy with soot marks all over his face.

A paramedic pushed their way forward and dropped down beside the man, holding an oxygen mask to his face. "Relax, just breath and relax," they spoke to him calmly.

The downed fireman took a few breaths into the mask and then pushed it off his face. "Tachibana," he wheezed. "Did Tachibana make it outside?"

That caught Sousuke's attention and for now no one had noticed he was still standing where he wasn't supposed to be.

"No," the Fire Captain appeared and crouched down to speak to the man. "What happened?"

"We were checking one of the storage rooms, there was smoke but no flames so we thought we were safe. Then the ground shook and suddenly a wall came down, I was on one side and Makoto was on the other. There was too much rubble, I couldn't find him, the fall killed my radio and then the room was on fire." The man coughed. "I had to cut myself out but then I lost my axe…"

He coughed again and the paramedic pushed the oxygen mask back on. "No more questions until he gets back to the ambulance." The two men from before lifted him again and carried him back behind the line of cars with the paramedic following close. The Fire Captain stood up again and looked back the building, Sousuke could just make out the troubled look on his face and that made his blood turn to ice.

"Aren't you going to send in someone after him?!" Sousuke demanded, too late he realized that he should have kept his mouth shut.

The Fire Captain turned to him, in surprise and then anger filled his features. "And do what?" He demanded. "I can't send my men back into an unsecured building! We don't know what caused the fire or the explosion; I'm not endangering anyone else."

"You can't leave him in there!" Sousuke yelled back. Suddenly his arms were immobilized and he was being drug back to the cars by two men this time. "Wait!"

"Get him the hell out of here!" The Fire Captain bellowed and Sousuke stopped struggling. The firemen pushed him back behind the police cars, giving him dirty looks before rejoining their crew members.

"Hey!" He heard Rin call out and turned to see the red head coming towards him. "Where the hell did you go? The Captain is pissed!"

"Rin," Sousuke panted. "Makoto didn't make it out of the building."

Even in the darkness he could see the blood drain from Rin's already pale face. 'W-what?" He stammered.

"He got separated from his partner during that explosion and he's missing." Sousuke's heart was still beating rapidly, a variety of emotions surged through his body from fear to panic and rage. He was in shock, his ears still ringing and a numb feeling in his fingertips and feet. He had to calm down and think.

"Where are you going?" Rin called after him as Sousuke took off running back towards the only wall of the building not on fire.

"If Makoto tries to make it out there is only one place he can go." Everyone else was still focusing their attention to the parts of the building already on fire.

"How do you know?" Rin asked, following close behind.

"I don't but I have to see." He ignored shouts from others who noticed he was running in the wrong direction. It was still the only part of the building that wasn't completely on fire but smoke was starting to come out of the cracked first floor windows.

"Hey wait a minute, Sousuke!" Rin ran ahead and grabbed his arm. "You can't go in there, it's too dangerous."

"But he's in there Rin." Sousuke pulled against his grip without success, he just looked at the smoking building in anguish. "And they won't save him."

"But-" Rin started to answer but there was a crash of glass that could be heard over the sounds of the fire. One of the broken windows was now completely shattered and more smoke was billowing out, they could just make out a figure in the darkness trying to climb out.

"Makoto!" Sousuke shook free of Rin in the distraction and ran for the window. Makoto was struggling because of his heavy fire gear, but he was favoring his left shoulder and it was making it difficult for him to climb out. "Makoto," he repeated as he reached him.

Other than the shoulder he didn't look hurt at all but his voice was rough from inhaling too much smoke. "Sousuke," he sounded surprised. "You shouldn't be here." Makoto's foot slipped and he cried out in pain as he hit his left side. Sousuke grabbed his right arm roughly and pulled him the rest of the way out but the increased weight threw of his balance and they both fell to the ground with Makoto landing on top of him.

"We have to get away," Makoto wheezed as he pulled himself upright. "There is sawdust all over that room."

"Can you stand?" Sousuke asked anxiously.

"Yes, but I think I broke my shoulder." Sousuke pulled Makoto up with him and half dragged him away from the window. He heard cries coming from the front of the building and realized that Rin must have went to get help. They were only about twenty feet away when the second explosion happened, Sousuke felt more than heard the pop and bang. The concussing force from the blast pitched them forward into the dirt, Sousuke's head swam but he didn't lose consciousness.

"Makoto," he mumbled and pulled himself up, searching for the other man blindly. He felt something cold and hard like plastic and realized it was Makoto's helmet. "Makoto, are ok?" He crawled on all fours to where Makoto had landed and realized that he had passed out, probably from the pain of his shoulder. He sat next to his head and slipped off the large plastic helmet as gently as he could without moving him too much.

The whole building was on fire now and Sousuke could feel the heat, but it also gave him enough light to see Makoto's face. There was soot all over it, streaked on his forehead from the sweat on his hairline. "Makoto, wake up…" he whispered, running his hands though his dampened hair and up until he reached his chin. Sousuke leaned over his mouth and tried listening for a breath, it was shallow but still there and his constricted heart eased just slightly in his chest.

"Wake up," he repeated; Sousuke traced the downed man's jawline softly. He couldn't help himself, he leaned over Makoto again but this time he planted a soft kiss on his slack and sweaty lips. He tasted like salt and smoke, Sousuke couldn't bring himself to pull away until he felt movement beneath him. He pulled halfway back in alarm at being caught; Makoto's bright green eyes were open and shining, the black on his face making them seem darker than usual. "Sousuke…" his voice was low and husky, giving Sousuke a chill down his spine and a pit in his stomach. But before he could say anything else his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out again.

"Sousuke! Makoto!" Rin had reached them; he had a paramedic and anther firefighter with him. The paramedic pushed Sousuke out of the way and began to examine Makoto, taking his pulse before putting the oxygen mask over his nose.

"Watch his left shoulder," Sousuke panted, suddenly it felt like his entire body hurt and the heat from the fire was unbearable.

"Are you alright?" Rin asked him, crouched down so he could check to see if he had any injuries.

"I'm fine," he answered thickly, accepting Rin's extended hand getting to his feet. The paramedic was still working on Makoto and calling for a stretcher so that they could move him away from the growing fire. More people arrived but Sousuke could hardly hear the noise over the blood pounding in his ears, a giant weight had been lifted from his shoulders only to be replaced by a stabbing of guilt in his stomach. He allowed Rin to lead him back to the circle of police cars, became aware that their Captain had caught up with them and was yelling him for disobeying orders. He didn't care, Makoto was safe and that was all that mattered.

* * *

Sousuke stood in the elevator and pushed the button for the fifth floor. It was early afternoon the next day and he had gotten a chance to go home and shower but sleep had evaded him. He had kept replaying the whole scene in his head; the fire, saving Makoto and then kissing him like an idiot.

After being chewed out by his Captain and checked over by the paramedics, Sousuke had watched them load Makoto into a waiting ambulance where they took him to the hospital to be more thoroughly checked out. Rin had called him later and told him that Makoto had a broken left shoulder and minor smoke inhalation but would make a full recovery with only a few days spent in the hospital under observation.

Sousuke debated whether or not he should go see him, he wanted desperately to know that he was alright but on the other hand he didn't want to overstep, especially after what he had done. His concern and his heart had finally won out over his common sense and brain, but when he arrived at the hospital and walked past the gift shop he realized that he hadn't thought to bring Makoto anything. Then there was the awkward task of trying to decide what to get him, a teddy bear was too juvenile and flowers would send the wrong message so he finally decided on a helium filled balloon. Their selection was something less than to be desired; it fell between the creepy clown or Sparkles the pink unicorn.

He had learned from the nurse at intake that Makoto had been moved out of the intensive care unit and to a recovery room on the fifth floor, she had seemed familiar with his name and Sousuke wondered how many visitors had made their way here already today. He stepped off the elevator and followed the signs until he got to the right hallway. Room 5034 was about halfway down, it looked small so it was probably a single occupancy. Sousuke walked up to the door hesitantly, telling himself that it was too late to turn back now. He peeked through the window that was in the top half of the wooden door, the curtain was drawn over the one in the wall for privacy.

Sure enough Makoto already had visitors, his old Iwatobi swim team and Rin were seated or standing in various spots around his bed. They all looked happy, Nagisa was sitting on the foot of the bed and waving his hands emphatically like he was in the middle of a good story. Rei was standing behind him with his arms crossed, looking ever so serious but even he was smiling. The other two were nearer the window, Rin in the visitors chair and Haruka standing beside the head of Makoto's bed. As if he could sense him Rin happened to look up while Sousuke was assessing the room through the window, their eyes met and he tipped his head to side and gave him a wide sharp toothed smile.

Sousuke thought that it was meant as an invitation but he was still hesitant, he always felt awkward around the whole group, like he was some interloper who didn't quite belong. He shook his head and then moved away from the window, leaning against the wall he let out the breath he had been holding. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. He turned on his heal and marched back the way he came from, still holding the ribbon tied to the balloon in almost a death grip. He almost made it all the way down the hallway before he heard the door open, knowing that it would be Rin trying to stop him from leaving he sped up.

"Sousuke! Wait!" The red haired man jogged up to him, earning a stern look from a nurse walking by. He mumbled an apology and touched Sousuke's arm, compelling him to turn around and face him. "You can't leave without talking to him."

"I shouldn't have come here, it was a mistake." Sousuke tried to shake him off but Rin grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him against the wall. He looked down at the man in surprise, it had been years since he had done something like that and he only became forceful when he really meant something.

"I don't know what's going on with you," Rin began; his voice was low so that it wouldn't draw any more attention to them. "But whatever it is, you had better figure it out. Yesterday you nearly got fired and almost ran into a burning building; you never lose control like that." Rin's intense red eyes glittered with emotion. "That means something."

He let go of Sousuke's shoulder before turning sharply and stalking back down the hallway to Makoto's room. Sousuke stood in the hallway and watched him leave silently. He had never told his best friend about the crush he had developed on the Captain of Iwatobi's swim team in high school and over the next few years he had had a few flings but no serious relationships. Through college with his swimming scholarship and then his career he had only managed to see Makoto through his friendship with Rin but the feelings had never left him. If he was being completely honest with himself he didn't even know their true depths since he had never allowed himself to express them in fear of rejection, until last night when he kissed Makoto at probably the worst possible Sousuke found it easy to obtain what he wanted, but in this instance he had felt powerless against his desires and it scared the hell out of him.

Suddenly he felt like he couldn't breathe, that the large hallway was closing in on him. He swiftly walked back to the elevator but the thought of riding in that small box made him even queasier so he took the emergency stairs. With his long legs he went down them two or three at a time until he reached a door that was marked with COURTYARD in white painted stencil letters. He pushed it hard with both hands and it flew open with a bang, stepping out to where a few curious onlookers were sitting on benches near the flowerbeds that were designed to be calming for the hospital's patients. Sousuke dropped his eyes in embarrassment and mumbled an apology that no one would have been able to hear anyway. He saw a free bench over by a small water fountain and rushed towards it, still clinging to the somewhat sagging floating balloon. He sat down and breathed heavy through his nose until his pulse stopped racing, he had never had a panic attack before and it was completely embarrassing.

He barely noticed the old man in maintenance guy overalls until he sat at the other end of the bench quietly. "I am sorry for your loss," he told Sousuke with real concern in his voice.

"What?" Sousuke answered a little breathless, he didn't understand what the old guy was talking about.

"I've worked here for over thirty years," the old man explained. "I know the look of loss when I see it. You aren't the first person who's flown through that door like they couldn't wait to leave."

"Oh." Sousuke realized the man's misunderstanding. "No, my… friend is still alive."

The old man raised his white eyebrows at him. "Really? Then why do you look like you've seen your own ghost then?"

"It's complicated." Sousuke didn't know why he was spilling his problems onto a random stranger, but the old man had such a welcoming quality that he couldn't help it.

"Ahhh, I take it that your 'friend' doesn't know how you feel then?" He could almost hear the quotations around the man's voice when he said friend. It both annoyed and embarrassed Sousuke to hear it plain out like that.

"It's not like that," he countered, but he could feel the flush on his face. "But I was there last night when he… had his accident and I may have done some things that could be taken the wrong way."

"He?" The old man looked confused again and Sousuke felt his embarrassment grow at the slip. He was about to get off the bench and make a run for it when the old man spoke again.

"It sounds to me like you are struggling with your own feelings." If he was still questioning Makoto's gender then it was no longer in his tone. "Is there a reason that you don't think your friend will return them?"

"No," Sousuke admitted. "But I don't know what I would do if he did. I've been hiding it for so long…"

"There are times when something happens and we are forced to see a situation differently, but the true test is how we react to those changes. The way I see it you have two options. One, you could run away and pretend that it didn't happen but never know what could have been. Or, you could face it and take whatever comes, good or the bad."

As much as Sousuke didn't want to admit it, the old man was right and he had known already what he had to do. "Thank you." He stood and bowed his head in respect. "I will take your advice."

He started to walk away but stopped when the old man spoke. "Good luck."

Sousuke just raised a hand in affirmation and then continued down the path until he got to the automatic doors that led back into the hospital. He took the elevator back up to the fifth floor calmly and then walked down the hallway. He noticed when he got close that Makoto's door was open but there were no loud sounds coming out of it. Sousuke took a deep breath and stood in the doorway, Rin and the others were gone and Makoto was sitting up in his bed looking at something out the window. His arm was in a sling but other then that he didn't look injured at all. Sousuke didn't know if he should knock or just walk right in, but before he could decide Makoto turned to face him. His face broke out in a big smile when he saw him in the doorway, there was a little bit of color in his cheeks which increased Sousuke's unease by about a thousand points.

"Sousuke," Makoto's voice was still husky, but was no longer laced with pain like last night. "I didn't think you would come."

"Um, well…" Sousuke took another step into the room and held up the fist that was still clutching the sadly deflating balloon. "Get well soon."

If anything, Makoto's smile got bigger. "Thank you, I think there is a weight over there you can tie it to if you want…" Sousuke noticed for the first time how full of presents the room was. There were flowers on almost every flat surface, cards stuck to a tack board by the side of Makoto's bed and sure enough a balloon weight with about a half dozen helium balloons tied to it, all of them better looking and more appropriate than his creepy clown. He eyed the cards shrewdly wondering why he hadn't thought of that instead, most of them looked home made by Makoto's two younger siblings and the kids at the community center where he volunteer coached the junior swim team.

"So, umm…" Sousuke started after he tied the balloon. He just couldn't bring himself to look Makoto in the face.

"Rin told me about what you did."

Sousuke looked up sharply at that, how did Rin know? Had he seen? Was that why he had been so angry in the hallway earlier? "Really?!"

"You saved me, pulled me out of the building," Makoto explained and the constriction around Sousuke's heart lessened just a hair. "Thank you."

"You climbed out yourself; I just helped at the end…" Now that he had seen his face he couldn't look away. His eyes were still bright like they had been last night and Sousuke was suddenly brought back to that moment after their lips touched and could almost smell the smoke again. "Rin told you…?"

"I can't remember much about it," Makoto admitted. "I remember getting separated from my partner when the roof came down and then I was here at the hospital. Rin said that you pulled me out of the window before it caught fire, you saved my life Sousuke."

Relief battled with disappointment in his gut when Makoto's words sunk in, he didn't remember the kiss, and he had no idea what Sousuke had done. "I was just doing my job," he replied, taking a more formal tone now he wouldn't have to do the thing he had come here to do. His secret would be safe for at least another day. "I am glad that you will be alright, Makoto. I should leave so that you can get some rest." Sousuke went to walk to the door.

"Wait." Makoto reached out a hand to catch him but he was too far from the bed. "Sousuke, don't go. We need to talk-"

"Hey!" Neither of them had noticed the nurse standing in the doorway. She was wearing pink scrubs with her long blonde hair tied back; she was holding a clip board and looked very annoyed. "I told your other visitors that it was time to go, you need rest Mr. Tachibana." She eyed Sousuke with a sharp glare. "I'm sorry but you have to leave."

"I was just on my way out," he told her. He glanced at Makoto who was looking disappointed for some reason. "Feel better."

"Sousuke wait," Makoto called again. He glanced at the agitated nurse who was doing everything but tap her toe at them. "I don't remember much about last night, but I do remember some things…" He let that linger cryptically and Sousuke sucked in a surprised breath, he wasn't saying what he thought he was, was he?

He stared down at Makoto on the bed for a few seconds until the nurse cleared her throat nosily. "Sorry," he told her and turned away from the bed to walk out.

She harrumphed loudly enough for him to hear and then shut the door once he was out of the room. Sousuke wondered if she was being so uptight because Makoto was an attractive and unattached fireman, she was definitely barking up the wrong tree with that one. He couldn't help the small smile as he got onto the elevator and hit the main floor button. Tt wasn't much but at least it was a start.

* * *

**Ahhhh, hopefully that isn't too bad for my first attempt! Way more angsty that I wanted and much much longer. I hope you enjoyed it!**


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